U.K. Game Industry Group Wants Government Help

Britain's major game industry consortium is asking the government to give it a boost.

The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association complained about what it called a lack of government assistance in the British videogame industry.

"Our impression is that government [understands] that there is a serious problem here and we have been invited back to discuss the issue further," ELSPA Director Paul Jackson said.

Jackson complained that his industry received less support that other forms of entertainment, such as film. He also griped that the industry's counterparts in other countries, like Canada, receive government-sponsored incentives.

"The reality is that the market is financially doped in other parts of the world, making it incredibly difficult for the industry in the U.K. to compete," he said.

The association, which counts 22,000 people as employed in the U.K. game industry, says the country stands fourth in funding rankings behind the U.S., Japan and Canada.